Roughly two-thirds of likely North Carolina voters support each of the three constitutional amendments on the ballot this November, according to the September 2026 Carolina Journal Poll released Thursday.
At least 80% of Republicans and at least 60% of independents support each amendment. Among Democrats, at least 54% support each tax amendment, while 53% oppose the photo ID amendment.
Two of the proposals revisit constitutional changes voters approved in 2018.
That year, 55.49% of voters approved an amendment requiring photo ID for in-person voting. This November, voters will decide whether to extend that constitutional requirement to mail-in voting. The Carolina Journal Poll found that 66.4% of likely voters support the proposal.
State law already requires mail-in voters to provide a copy of an acceptable photo ID or complete an ID Exception Form.
Also in 2018, 57.35% of voters approved an amendment lowering the maximum allowable state income tax rate to 7%. This November, voters will decide whether to further lower that constitutional cap to 3.5%. The Carolina Journal Poll found that 66.9% of likely voters support the proposal.
Under current state law, North Carolina’s personal income tax rate is scheduled to drop from 3.99% to 3.49% in 2027, while the corporate income tax rate is scheduled to drop from 2% to 1% in 2028. The proposed amendment would not enact those scheduled tax cuts, but it would prohibit future General Assemblies from raising either income tax rate above 3.5%.
The third amendment, supported by 65.6% of likely voters in the Carolina Journal Poll, would require the General Assembly to limit how much local governments can increase their property taxes. The proposal itself does not specify a limit.
All three amendments passed the General Assembly largely along party lines, with all Republicans supporting them and most Democrats opposing them.
The Carolina Journal Poll found higher support for each amendment than for Republicans in the generic legislative ballot. Asked which party’s legislative candidates they would support if the election were held today, 49.5% of likely voters chose Democrats, while 41.3% chose Republicans.
In 2018, voters approved both the photo ID and income tax amendments, but Republicans lost their veto-proof supermajorities in both chambers of the General Assembly.
“Republican legislative leaders have tended to emphasize constitutional amendments that are likely to spur interest among conservative voters,” Mitch Kokai, senior political analyst at the John Locke Foundation, told Carolina Journal. “It should not surprise us, then, that this year’s amendments focus on tax limitations and voter ID.”
“Choosing a midterm election for these amendments might signify Republican lawmakers’ recognition that conservative turnout could dip during a midterm election,” Kokai added. “That’s true especially when the marquee matchup on the 2026 ballot features a Republican who is trailing in the polls and has yet to spark much enthusiasm within the GOP base.”
In the US Senate race, Democrat Roy Cooper led Republican Michael Whatley by 15.1 percentage points in the Carolina Journal Poll. Asked whom they would support if the election were held today, 90% of Democrats chose Cooper, while 74% of Republicans chose Whatley.
The September 2026 Carolina Journal Poll, conducted by Harper Polling, surveyed 608 likely North Carolina voters Sept. 13–15, with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.97 percentage points.